Gutterball and Friends
"Gutterball and Friends" is a Current Era comic book series by Vigilante Comics starring Gutterball and his friends, Muffler and Wick-Man. The series is written and drawn by Michael J. Longo. Issues Issue #1 (Feb 2015) This issue is titled "Out of the Gutter". Peanut Butter and Jelly have just committed a heist and are flying away. On a rooftop, Wick-Man uses his wax-blaster to knock out Jelly's jetpack. On another rooftop, Muffler silences Jelly's screams to keep Peanut Butter from hearing. Jelly falls and bangs against a couple of buildings, and lands in a dumpster in an alley, knocking it over and spilling out a homeless man who was sleeping in it. The man, who turns out to be Gutterball, is angry. Jelly sprays him in the face with jelly, which angers him more. Meanwhile, Wick-Man and Muffler have come down to the street level to find where Jelly had landed. After being beaten by Gutterball, Jelly is tossed out into the street near them. Jelly is scared of Gutterball hurting him more, and pleads for help. Peanut Butter, having now realized Jelly is gone, flies down and punches Muffler and Wick-Man. He swings around to attack Gutterball, and launches peanuts at him. The projectile peanuts hit, but are ineffective. Gutterball starts tossing bowling pin after bowling pin, hitting Peanut Butter in the head repeatedly, until he gives up. Soon after, the Quadropolis Police Department take Peanut Butter and Jelly away, while the three heroes introduce themselves. Muffler and Wick-Man invite Gutterball to join them for pancakes, which he agrees to, as long as they can pay for him. Note: This issue is collected in D.O.P.E. Short Story Collection Volume 1. Issue #2 (Mar 2015) Titled "Pancakes and Fisticuffs", this issue was written in Jan 2015, and drawn in Feb-Mar 2015. The story starts 2 hours or so after the events of issue #1 when Gutterball, Muffler and Wick-Man are finishing their meals at Quadropolis House of Pancakes (QHOP). Muffler and Wick-Man try to convince Gutterball to join them as a full-time hero. Gutterball refuses, saying he doesn't feel up to it and he has too much on his mind. As the threesome leaves the restaurant, they witness a villain named Microwave zapping a Deep Pockets Bank ATM with his microwave gauntlets, and money spewing out. Wick-Man and Muffler instinctively run towards the criminal, but Gutterball stands back and starts walking off, leaving the hero duties to the others. Muffler gets to Microwave first and gets zapped by the criminal's gauntlets, causing his metal head to spark. Wick-Man then attacks with a big punch that Microwave ducks out of the way of. He then gets zapped, too, causing his head to partially melt. Gutterball looks back, and seeing his new friends in trouble, decides to step in. He charges into Microwave's back, knocking him down. Microwave gets up and zaps Gutterball. He is unfazed, and reports that he feels only partially warm on the outside but still cold on the inside. Gutterball then smashes Microwave's gauntlets with bowling pins, breaking them into pieces. After a big punch, Gutterball subdues Microwave, and the three heroes carry him off to jail. As they are walking off, Gutterball admits that he truly does like beating up these thugs. Note: This issue is collected in D.O.P.E. Short Story Collection Volume 1. Issue #3 (Mar 2015) Titled "And the Wiener is...", this issue was written initially in 2012, and edited in Jan 2015, and drawn in Mar 2015. The story starts with Gutterball, Wick-Man and Muffler on the streets of Quadropolis. Muffler suggests they stop at the Wiener Wagon for a hot dog. Wick-Man walks up in line, behind only one man - Captain Plump of the QPD. Then, a suited and hatted man with a moustache bumps past Plump and demands money from the Wiener Wagon's proprietor, an Indian man named Amit. Plump protests (because he was cut in line) but when the man produces a gun in his face, Plump runs away scared. The three heroes now spring into action, seeing the moustached man aiming his weapon at Amit. The would-be-thief shoots Wick-Man right through the head. He's fine, and explains that his body is made entirely of wax. The only way he can die, Wick-Man states, is to burn his wick to the end. The man identifies himself as Whipstache, and gets his gun knocked away by Muffler while he tries to tell the tale of how/when he started growing his moustache. Muffler then gets punched hard in the stomach, causing him to gasp (muffle). Gutterball then clocks Whipstache across the head with a bowling pin, knocking him out. The battle is over. In gratitude, Amit offers the heroes discounted hot dogs. The threesome then cuff Whipstache and walk him off (to jail). Whipstache tries to finish his facial hair story but is shot down by Gutterball's "Spare us the details". Note #1: This comic contains a "Previously" page which highlights the occurrences of Issues 1 & 2. Note #2: In the background in one scene is a newspaper box for the Daily Gonad. Note #3: This issue is collected in D.O.P.E. Short Story Collection Volume 1. Category:Comic title